When the female voice is repressed and stifled, the entire community can easily find themselves cut off from the sacred feminine, depriving themselves of the full image of god.
Rob BellRead
Take faith, for example. For many people in our world, the opposite of faith is doubt. The goal, then, within this understanding, is to eliminate doubt. But faith and doubt aren't opposites. Doubt is often a sign that your faith has a pulse, that it's alive and well and exploring and searching. Faith and doubt aren't opposites, they are, it turns out, excellent dance partners.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Faith and doubt coexist and can enrich one another.
In this quote, Rob Bell suggests that faith and doubt should not be viewed as opposing forces, but rather as complementary elements in a person's spiritual journey. Doubt can indicate that faith is active and engaged, encouraging exploration and growth, much like how partners in a dance support and enhance each other's movements.
Themes
FaithDoubtSpiritualityExplorationGrowth
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about belief systems, you might say this quote to illustrate the complexity of faith.
More from Rob Bell
All quotes →The moment God is figured out with nice neat lines and definitions, we are no longer dealing with God.
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If the gospel isn't good news for everybody, then it isn't good news for anybody. And this is because the most powerful things happen when the church surrenders its desire to convert people and convince them to join. It is when the church gives itself away in radical acts of service and compassion, expecting nothing in return, that the way of Jesus is most vividly put on display.
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Often the people most concerned about others going to hell when they die seem less concerned with the hells on earth right now, while the people most concerned with the hells on earth right now seem the least concerned about hell after death.
Rob BellRead
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Tears throw a veil over our faults and allow us to accuse fate without fear or contradiction.
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Repentance means turning from as much as you know of your sin to give as much as you know of yourself to as much as you know of your God, and as our knowledge grows at these three points so our practice of repentance has to be enlarged.
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